Chapter 14

Units Conversions
It is absolutely essential to report units
with the number answers.
1
Unit History
inch
 width of your thumb
foot
 originally the length of your foot, now greater
yard
 three feet, from nose to middle finger

2
Unit History
fathom
 6 feet, arm span
mile
 1000 paces, 5280 feet
furlong
 220 yards

3
14.7 Temperature Scales
 
o
F 
9 o
5
 
C  32  
o
 
C   F  32
5 o
9
 K   o

C  273.15

Example:
T = 77 K

4
Mass
the quantity of matter in an object

the measurement of the inertia

measured in kilograms (kg)

5
Weight
the force upon an object due to gravity

Weight = Mass  Acceleration of gravity

Fg = mg

measured in Newtons (N) in the metric

system or pounds (lb) in the British
system
6
Engineering Mass and Weight
Pound-Mass
 lbm
 One pound-mass weighs 1 pound.
 1 slug = 32.2 lbm

Pound-Force
 lbf
 It is the same as a pound (lb).
 1 lbf = 1 lb

7
1 lbf = 32.2 lbm ft/s 2

Mass  Weight
8
In-class Assignment

9
Chapter 15

10
Dimensions

Dimension Symbol

Length [L]
Mass [M]
time [T]
force [F]
electric current [A]
absolute temperature [
luminous intensity /]

11
Base Units
Fundamental Dimension Base Unit

time second (s)

electric current ampere (A)
absolute temperature kelvin (K)
luminous intensity candela (cd)
amount of substance mole (mol)

12
The International System
of Units (SI)
Fundamental Dimension Base Unit

length [L] meter (m)

mass [M] kilogram (kg)
time [T] second (s)
electric current [A] ampere (A)
absolute temperature [] kelvin (K)
luminous intensity [l] candela (cd)
amount of substance [n] mole (mol)

13
What are these things?
See fundamentalSI.ppt for information
about these 'things'

14
SI Prefixes
Decimal
Prefix Multiplier Symbol
nano 10-9 n
micro 10-6 
milli 10-3 m
centi 10-2 c
deci 10-1 d
deka 10+1 da
hecto 10+2 h
kilo 10+3 k
mega 10+6 M
giga 10+9 G 15
 Supplementary SI
Dimensions
Supplementary Dimension Base Unit

plane angle radian (rad)

solid angle steradian (sr)

16
Force = (mass) (acceleration)

17
 U.S. Customary System of
Units (USCS)
Fundamental Dimension Base Unit

length [L] foot (ft)

force [F] pound (lb)
time [T] second (sec)

Derived Dimension Unit Definition

mass [FT2/L] slug lbf sec2/ft

18
 Force = (mass)
(acceleration)
1 lb f  1 slug  ft/sec 2

F = ma
W = mg

19
American Engineering
System of Units (AES)
Fundamental Dimension Base Unit

length foot (ft)

mass pound (lbm)
force pound (lbf)
time second (sec)
electric charge [Q] coulomb (C)
absolute temperature degree Rankine (oR)
luminous intensity candela (cd)
amount of substance mole (mol)
20
Converting Between Foot and Meter

To convert from foot to meter, multiply by

3.048* E-01

To convert from meter to foot, multiply by

(3.048* E-01)-1

21
Thought Item
Concerning the previous slide, which of
the following is true?
a. There are exactly 0.3048 m/ft.
b. There are exactly 0.3048 ft/m.
c. Neither a not b.
Hint: Think about this physically..

22
American Engineering System
Note, there is a problem when we use the
same unit (“pound”, meaning lbf and lbm)
to describe two different dimensions.
Newton's Second Law: F = ma
 1 lbf = 1 lbm ft/s2 ??? NO!!!
Must have conservation of units.

23
Conservation of Units
Principle of conservation of units:
 units on the left side of an equation must
be the same as those on the right side of
an equation
 dimensional homogeneity

24
AES and Newton’s Law
Must maintain dimensional homogeneity:

ma
F
gc
lbm ft
gc  32.174
lb f sec 2
Now we have lbf = lbf
See gcderived.ppt for the derivation of g c

25
Pairs Exercise (5 min.)
Use a different pairing...
The force of wind acting on a body can be
computed by the formula:
F = 0.00256 Cd V2 A
where: F = wind force in lbf , Cd= drag
coefficient (no units), V = wind velocity in
miles per hour and A = projected area in
ft2
Is this dimensionally homogeneous?
What are the dimensions of 0.00256?
26
Reality Check...

Are units really

important?
Is checking your
work and your
team’s work
really important?

Mars Lander (ABC news)

Mars Lander (NASA)
27
Homework

28
Temperature Exercise
You take water from the faucet (80 oF)
and bring it to a boil on the stove.
What is the temperature change in oC?
What is the initial temperature in oC?

29
A Solution
For the temperature change, the best
solution process is to use degree
equivalents

1 deg C x deg C

1.8 deg F (212  80) deg F
x  73.3 deg C

30
A Solution
For the temperature value we use
temperature conversion:
oC = (5/9)*(80 - 32) = 26.7 oC

31